Etymologically
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gosh

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɡɒʃ/, US /ɡɑːʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is an altered pronunciation and spelling of God, a euphemism used in oaths,[2][3][4][5] probably developed from by gosse,[2][3] which is in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister (before 1553).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mild oath or exclamation, at first in the phrase by gosh: 1757.[2][6][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline compares losh, an 18th-century exclamation of surprise that the Century Dictionary called a distortion of Lord.[3] The OED also records goshawful.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1553 – by gosse.[2]
  • 1757 – gosh.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Interjection

  1. An exclamation of mild surprise, wonder or delight.

Usage notes

The EDD records gosh in oaths in Scotland and many English counties, as well as in America.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)